_I admit I’m not a light packer. If I could magically take everything with me I would. But reality has a way of sneaking in and preventing that from happening.

So to take as much of the right things with me here are a few key things I consider when packing:What to bring: 1. Where are you going? If you are going to the royal wedding you will certainly need a few different things than those who are going scuba diving. Are there any restrictions that might limit what you bring? Like the dreaded weight limits on smaller aircraft that is used to reach those wonderful small remote islands. What are the facilities like where you are going? Can you have things laundered at your destination?2. What will you do while you’re there? Black tie dinners? Beach barbeque? Or Black tie beach barbeque? All of this will influence what you need to bring with you. Will you bring your own scuba gear or golf clubs? Will you need your entire Pez dispenser collection? Your activities have a big impact on what you bring.3. How will you get to your destination and how long will you be there? Ferrari or G650? If you are flying a commercial airline make sure you know the rules of the airline (carry-on, baggage fees, etc) as well as the airports and countries you will be visiting. Chewing gym is still not allowed in Singapore by the Singapore Government.

I often start mentally planning out what I will bring about a week or two in advance so I can make sure I have everything laundered and ready. If you haven’t worn one of the items in a while make sure to try it on again to be certain it still fits. If you are a secret agent and travel regularly for work consider having an entire set of toiletries ready so you are always ready to go.How to bring it:Once you know the answers to the above questions you can decide if you need a weekend bag or both of your new Goyard wardrobe trunks. Perhaps you are taking your new Tesla Roadster which doesn’t have room for your wardrobe trunks. In that case consider shipping your things to your destination in advance. Luggage Free and Luggage Forward are two companies that are offering shipping services that can make your travel experience easier. Some commercial airlines are also adding this service with some limitations. In the U.S. United Airlines is offering door to door service.Once you have figured out what you want to bring and how you are going to get it there you finally need to reach the most important part – fitting everything in your luggage.How to pack:Packing seems to be a skill that most people learn from their parents or maybe their childhood butler. However, a few people have dedicated themselves to the topic of packing. Clothing: There are two major schools of thought on how to pack your clothes - roll or bundle. Both are focused on reducing wrinkles and eliminating wasted space. Those in favor of rolling their clothes roll each item so that there are no sharp lines. While the bundlers create what one person described as a well-organized ball of clothes. If you are not familiar with the bundle style check out this diagram from OneBag.com. Or Chris at HackCollege was inspired by OneBag.com and created the below video to show others how to bundle pack. While I can’t help but laugh, he does point out a valid concern for this type of packing. I suppose he is speaking from personal experience.

_Another growing trend is separating items into individual compartments. I’m currently obsessing over Flight001’s Spacepak. It seems like a great packing solution in terms of saving space and being able to easily get something out of your luggage without having to unpack the entire suitcase or spend the time unbundling everything. However, it doesn’t address the issue of creases in your clothes from the folding.

_Regardless of which method you use, if you are going to need something from your suitcase make sure to pack it in the area that is most easily reached.Liquids– When traveling with liquids the major concern is leaks. If you’re traveling with a case of your new favorite wine make sure to get the right kind of shipping material such as these wine packs. No matter what liquid you are carrying, make sure the container lids are on tight. If your liquid has a pop-up lid consider putting tape on part of the lid so it can’t pop-up. Placing liquid containers within bags such as Ziploc bags also reduces the chance of liquids leaking all over your new cashmere swimsuit. If you are going for a short trip consider getting 3oz sizes of your favorite toiletries from 3floz.com or you can purchase some 3oz containers and transfer the product yourself.If all of this seems like too much work, or you gave the staff the day off, just order everything you need and have it shipped to your destination. Regardless, I hope these tips are helpful. If you or one of your butlers has additional packing tips please add them to the comment section. As for me, I’m off to look at those Spacepaks again.